I know what it feels like to be stuck at a rating.
I was stuck around 2300, and completing my IM title took six years. One mistake I made was not hiring a coach because I wanted to save money. Looking back, I should have asked for help earlier.
So when someone says they study every day but are still around 1600, I understand the frustration. The useful question is what happens during those study hours and whether the work addresses the problems appearing in their games.
I am mainly talking about players around 1600 FIDE here.
1. You study without understanding your own weaknesses
In my WhatsApp group, I ask students to spend 20–30 minutes reflecting on their chess and writing down what they notice. This helps me understand what we should work on in future lessons.
I have written before that hardly one or two students complete this exercise.
It is a small task, but it requires you to look honestly at your own games.
For example, saying “my calculation is weak” does not give you much direction. You need to identify what happens when you calculate. Do you miss candidate moves? Stop after finding one promising line? Overlook your opponent’s strongest reply?
Review your last 10 serious games and write down the recurring problems. That gives you something specific to work on.
2. You spend too little time making decisions yourself
Many new students who join my classes do not practise with a physical board. Setting up the pieces and making the moves feels boring to them.
But sitting with a position and working through it is an important part of training.
When you watch an explanation, the moves often make sense. You need to find out whether you could choose those moves without someone explaining them.
Pause the video before an important decision. Write down your candidate moves and calculate the replies. Then compare your thinking with the explanation.
If you are not used to studying over the board, start with 25 minutes. Choose a few positions, put your phone away, and work through them properly.
3. You choose material that is too difficult
I have seen 1600–1700 players working with Aagaard’s Grandmaster Preparation calculation material. Some of those positions are difficult even for FMs and IMs.
Spending a long time on a position does not automatically make it a useful training session.
Choose material where you can find ideas and calculate meaningful variations, even if you miss part of the solution. When you check the answer, you should be able to understand where your thinking went wrong.
You can return to the harder books when you are better prepared for them.
4. You keep changing openings instead of learning from your games
Working with my first eight to ten students helped me realise how important basic opening preparation is at this level.
You need to understand the positions you are going to play: where your pieces belong, which pawn breaks matter, and what your opponent is trying to do.
After a loss, check whether the opening was actually the problem. If you reached a playable position and then missed a tactic, learning a new opening will not address that mistake.
Keep a manageable repertoire and use your games to improve it. Give yourself time to become familiar with the resulting positions.
5. You assume you know the basic endgames
I have a fixed set of endgame positions that I use with new students. Many struggle to solve them, including players around 1700 and above.
This is one reason I keep recommending basic endgame work.
Test yourself before deciding that a topic is too easy. Set up a position, put the solution away, and try to work it out. If you have a training partner, play it from both sides.
If you recognise a position but cannot explain the winning or drawing method, you still have work to do.
6. You expect the result before the work has had time to show
In an earlier article, I shared the progress of seven players I had worked with. Here are three of those examples:
USCF 1500 → 2100 2 years, 4 months → 200 Hours
FIDE 1750 → 2250 2 years → 170 Hours
FIDE 1900 → 2250 1 year, 1 month → 40 Hours
These are selected examples of players who improved, not the average result of everyone I have coached.
Read that article from here
How Many Classes Do Students Need to See Growth?
All seven players in that article practised for at least 1.5–2 hours daily. Some also worked with other coaches and attended camps, so I cannot take full credit for their progress.
The coaching hours in the table are only part of the work. The players also had to practise, play tournaments, and apply what they learned.
Do not use another student’s timeline as a deadline for yourself. Review whether your own decisions are improving and whether you are correcting recurring mistakes.
What I would change for the next month
Start with the 20–30 minute reflection exercise. Write down what you currently study, what you avoid, and what keeps going wrong in your games.
Then review your last 10 serious games and choose two priorities.
For example, if you regularly overlook defensive resources and struggle in rook endings, give those topics regular space in your week. During calculation practice, write down the opponent’s strongest reply. During endgame work, test whether you can apply the method without looking at the answer.
Keep playing and analysing your games. After a month, compare the mistakes with your earlier notes.
You may still make some of them. But you should have a clearer idea of what needs attention and how to use your study time.
If you want a day-to-day structure, I created my 90-Day Chess Improvement Plan for 1600–1800 FIDE Rated Players to help players organise this work.
I have different Improvement plan starting from 1400-1600 to 2000-2200. You can checkout all of my chess courses from here – https://nikhildixit.gumroad.com/
You can consider purchasing the course to help my writing journey!